Diana Walz Therapy

Eating Mindfully is a concept that utilizes the development of awareness to help reduce habits of eating when experiencing stress or intense emotions, either pleasant or unpleasant.

Mindful awareness is a process of paying attention to the present moment on purpose, without judgment and with openness. So much of our lives are spent on automatic pilot, thinking about the past or planning for the future that we miss what is happening in the here-and-now. Much of the time we are not really aware of what we are thinking, feeling, or doing. When we are not aware, we tend to react automatically to stress. This reactivity leaves us vulnerable to choose actions that might help us cope in the short term but may develop into unhealthy patterns over a period of time. For some people, ‘reacting’ automatically to stressors, through the comfort of food, leads to problematic eating.

This program involves learning body-mind practices such as meditation and yoga that can help us stay present and aware of what we put into our bodies and how it makes us feel. These practices can counteract the habitual urges to eat that can so easily arise. When we become more aware of triggers and conditions that lead to problematic eating, we are able to develop alternatives for coping with uncomfortable feelings and situations. As we become more attentive to body, mind, thoughts and feelings, we have the opportunity to distinguish between physical hunger and emotional hunger.

Eating mindfully is not a diet or a weight loss program. It is about the personal relationship with food. It encourages individuals to reflect on how they eat and why they eat. Eating mindfully provides an opportunity to develop awareness of every aspect of eating including thoughts and feelings about food, eating patterns, food choices, and connections with food that relate to self, others and the world in which we live.